


Crops of the Underground

by ArgentDandelion



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Agriculture, Biology, Botany, Food, Gen, Industries of the Underground, Nonfiction, Plants, Trees, Worldbuilding
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-15
Updated: 2018-05-15
Packaged: 2020-07-26 23:55:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,726
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20036272
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ArgentDandelion/pseuds/ArgentDandelion
Summary: A post series on the food crops of the Underground.





	1. Known Types of Plants

**Author's Note:**

> Originally posted on Tumblr on May 15, 2018.

(Images derived from CrasherGale’s sprite resource.) _(CrasherGale's Tumblr has since been taken over by a bot, apparently)_

**Introduction**

Monster food is “made of magic”. Yet, monsters are capable of eating human food. It is unclear when monster food was invented, or how it is manufactured. For the sake of this post, I will presume monster food is manufactured synthetically rather than by conversion of physical matter, and that it is a relatively recent invention. With that in mind, prior to the invention of purely magical food monsters needed a reliable food supply underground.

So what food crops grow in the Underground?

For the purpose of this analysis, I’ll only be analyzing raw foods, not processed ones made from unknown ingredients. This is because some processed foods (e.g., Undyne’s spaghetti) could theoretically be made from unconventional sources and still referred to by the base name without specifying the ingredients. (i.e., noodles are generally made from wheat flour, but in countries where noodles of rice flour are common, they’re likely not commonly called “rice noodles”)

_(There are many more plants of the Underground, but they are plants of unclear type whose edibility or use isn’t mentioned)_

* * *

**Typha**

**Uses**

Conveniently, one plant of the Underground has a known genus: _Typha_. The plant, often called a “water sausage” in-game, is both edible and versatile in a culinary sense. Their starchy rhizomes (like roots) are nutritious, with a protein content comparable to American corn (or “maize”) or rice.

_Typha_ can also be used for chair seating, building material, livestock feed, flotation vests, thermal insulation, paper, fibers for clothing, biofuel, pillow stuffing, and candles.[1](https://argentdandelion.tumblr.com/post/173937823896/crops-of-the-underground-known-types-of-plants#fn:1)

Since the [“hot dogs”](https://t.umblr.com/redirect?z=http%3A%2F%2Fundertale.wikia.com%2Fwiki%2FHot_Dog...%253F&t=OGY2ZTIyMzQxODBjOTU3ZDRlODE2YzhlZTk5ZDNjNDBkOTcxZGQ3MSxEWVNueDZtbQ%3D%3D&b=t%3AHZZTbr56CX-Pu8cYzedJTw&p=https%3A%2F%2Fargentdandelion.tumblr.com%2Fpost%2F173937823896%2Fcrops-of-the-underground-known-types-of-plants&m=1) Sans serves in his illegal hot dog stand is specified to be made from _Typha_, at the very least, knowledge _Typha_ is edible isn’t obscure in the Underground. With its variety of uses, it could very well be a major crop of the Underground.

**Plausibility as a Crop**

_Typha_ are so well-adapted to colonize newly opened habitats, grow in abundance, and exclude the competition that they’re ecologically weed-like. _Typha_ are generally not shade tolerant[2](https://argentdandelion.tumblr.com/post/173937823896/crops-of-the-underground-known-types-of-plants#fn:2), but according to Missouri Botanical Garden[3](https://argentdandelion.tumblr.com/post/173937823896/crops-of-the-underground-known-types-of-plants#fn:3), _Typha latifola_ (common cattail) can deal with part shade. Assuming it’s _Typha latifolia_ or a physiologically very similar species, its ability to grow in slightly brackish waters may mean it can grow in the same habitat as brackish-adapted seaweed/seagrass/“grooty” (see next post). Potentially, the crops could be alternated on farms.

From what’s known of the game’s habitats, Waterfall seems the closest to its natural habitat of marshes. However, unless Waterfall has a day/night cycle and the protagonist happens to visit during the “night”, it’s likely too dark for _Typha_. (Short of magic, intensive breeding, technological intervention, etc.) It may be that _Typha_ doesn’t grow in Waterfall, but in some unseen area (like “the Bay” Undyne mentions in a Papyrus call) or an unseen part of the Ruins/Home area. (After all, Toriel would have to get those potted _Typha_ from somewhere)

* * *

**Conifers/Pines**

  
_(Some of the smaller conifers. They resemble the Christmas, or rather Gyftmas, tree in Snowdin)_

_(Assumed pine trees by default, though at this resolution it’s hard to tell whether they’re pines, spruces, or firs)_

Beyond pine nuts, some pine trees can be used as a food source. The cambium, the inner layer of bark between the hard wood and outer bark, is edible. According to [Atlas Obscura](https://t.umblr.com/redirect?z=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.atlasobscura.com%2Farticles%2Fso-you-want-to-eat-a-tree&t=YzhiYTQ0MjQ0NzI1NzgzZWJmMmZjZGYxYjA1YTY3M2QzZWVhNGZmYyxEWVNueDZtbQ%3D%3D&b=t%3AHZZTbr56CX-Pu8cYzedJTw&p=https%3A%2F%2Fargentdandelion.tumblr.com%2Fpost%2F173937823896%2Fcrops-of-the-underground-known-types-of-plants&m=1), the cambium of most trees are edible and nutrient-rich. The cambium can be fried in oil and butter to make “bark chips” or “bark jerky”, or dry-roasted to make an almost crouton-like salad topping. It’s most commonly (and historically) repurposed as a flour, and added to other flours.

However, one cannot survive for long on just cambium, and eating too much of it will upset one’s bowels—for humans, at least. There are also limits on how much cambium can be harvested: stripping an entire ring of cambium off a tree will kill the tree.

Pine trees have some edible parts other than cambium and nuts. Spruce tips, tender young needles, are edible, though only available in spring. They could, however, be available year-round in the Underground. Pine needle tea is a good source of Vitamin C. In contrast to female pine cones, the young, male cones are small, soft and edible.

**Plausibility as a Crop:**

Using pine trees for food is pretty common, so it’s likely monsters would know of their usefulness as a food source early in their history. That some of the pine trees are absolutely enormous may suggest they’ve had some use to monsters for a very long time: if they weren’t useful, monsters may have replaced them with something else on account of limited space and resources.

Of course, it’s also possible that, as monsters’ food options diversified/were replaced by food synthesization, conifers simply switched to being more useful for lumber.

* * *

**Buttercups**

  
(_Images of actual buttercups are lacking; both Flowey and the flowers of the throne room are "golden flowers”, not buttercups_)

**Uses**

Buttercups are very poisonous. However, its toxin is inactivated when the plant is dried[4](https://argentdandelion.tumblr.com/post/173937823896/crops-of-the-underground-known-types-of-plants#fn:4) or heated[5](https://argentdandelion.tumblr.com/post/173937823896/crops-of-the-underground-known-types-of-plants#fn:5), so buttercup is not a problem as hay. Some sources claim some species of buttercups are edible, which means they might have some food value to monsters if the plants are first dried or heated. The particular species of buttercups baked into a a pie isn’t mentioned, so it could very well be an edible species. Even if they are not processed for monster consumption, they could still be useful to monsters as livestock feed (e.g., for snails).

It’s possible the “buttercups” mentioned are not, in fact, buttercups: that is, plants of the _Ranunculus_ genus. They could very well be another kind of plant with the common name “buttercup”, such as the “Bermuda buttercup”, _Oxalis pes-caprae_.[6](https://argentdandelion.tumblr.com/post/173937823896/crops-of-the-underground-known-types-of-plants#fn:6) Like true buttercups, Bermuda buttercups are both edible (in the right conditions) and toxic, though likely not so severely toxic as true buttercups when eaten raw. Their leaves, stems,[7](https://argentdandelion.tumblr.com/post/173937823896/crops-of-the-underground-known-types-of-plants#fn:7) flowers and roots are edible, and the petals [can be made into a yellow dye.](https://t.umblr.com/redirect?z=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2012%2F04%2F05%2Fgarden%2Fa-new-generation-discovers-grow-it-yourself-dyes.html&t=YmJjNzdhZmYxOWYxZWNiOTI1NDcyYjcyZmRlYjk4YWU5NjQyNzViNixEWVNueDZtbQ%3D%3D&b=t%3AHZZTbr56CX-Pu8cYzedJTw&p=https%3A%2F%2Fargentdandelion.tumblr.com%2Fpost%2F173937823896%2Fcrops-of-the-underground-known-types-of-plants&m=1)

**Plausibility as a Crop**

According to [Missouri Botanical Garden](https://t.umblr.com/redirect?z=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2012%2F04%2F05%2Fgarden%2Fa-new-generation-discovers-grow-it-yourself-dyes.html&t=YmJjNzdhZmYxOWYxZWNiOTI1NDcyYjcyZmRlYjk4YWU5NjQyNzViNixEWVNueDZtbQ%3D%3D&b=t%3AHZZTbr56CX-Pu8cYzedJTw&p=https%3A%2F%2Fargentdandelion.tumblr.com%2Fpost%2F173937823896%2Fcrops-of-the-underground-known-types-of-plants&m=1), _Ranunculus repens_ (creeping buttercup, a common, weedy variety of buttercup) is easy to grow in part shade, and tolerates full shade. That it can tolerate full shade would make it very appealing in low-light conditions or before sun-mimicking artificial light sources were invented. As creeping buttercup is a weed, it may very well be hardy enough to survive in the Underground, at least when pampered by the gardener Asgore. If the buttercup species is indeed _Ranunculus repens_, the low level of its toxin (0.27%) on a dry-weight basis may be fortunate: since it’s relatively low, one would have to eat a lot of raw buttercups to die from it.

Information on the shade tolerance of _Oxalis pes-caprae_ is lacking. [One source](https://t.umblr.com/redirect?z=http%3A%2F%2Fwric.ucdavis.edu%2Finformation%2Fnatural%2520areas%2Fwr_O%2FOxalis.pdf&t=ZjU5NmZiMzczZTEwN2QxYTNhMzEyMDkwNDdlZDEzYTg0NjZjNmVhMCxEWVNueDZtbQ%3D%3D&b=t%3AHZZTbr56CX-Pu8cYzedJTw&p=https%3A%2F%2Fargentdandelion.tumblr.com%2Fpost%2F173937823896%2Fcrops-of-the-underground-known-types-of-plants&m=1) claims _Oxalis pes-caprae_ grows primarily in semi-shade, while [another](https://t.umblr.com/redirect?z=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pir.sa.gov.au%2Fbiosecurity%2Fweeds_and_pest_animals%2Fweeds_in_sa%2Fplant_policies%2Fpest_weed_policies%2Fundeclared_plants%2Fsoursob.pdf&t=MjdhNDJlMmY4ODg4ZjlkZGNhZWY5NDVhYTE1OWM2YTU1ZWViYzVkMyxEWVNueDZtbQ%3D%3D&b=t%3AHZZTbr56CX-Pu8cYzedJTw&p=https%3A%2F%2Fargentdandelion.tumblr.com%2Fpost%2F173937823896%2Fcrops-of-the-underground-known-types-of-plants&m=1) claims they grow in heavy shade.[8](https://argentdandelion.tumblr.com/post/173937823896/crops-of-the-underground-known-types-of-plants#fn:8) Bermuda buttercup is a weed, which might help it grow in the sub-par conditions of the Underground.

According to Wikipedia, Bermuda buttercup is nutritious, but too acidic to be good fodder. Still, this statement was probably meant to apply to mammal livestock; it could be different for snails. Bermuda buttercup is palatable, and in small amounts reasonably harmless to humans (and presumably monsters) and livestock.

* * *

**Tomatoes**

_(What is either a large yellow pepper or a banana and what is probably a carrot is also shown in the above image, but they are not named in-game and thus won’t be covered in the post)_

**Uses**

Unless one presumes it’s a fake tomato (a la imitation crab legs made from surimi, but as a vegetable) tomatoes are apparently grown Underground. (The reader is presumably familiar with the versatility of tomatoes, so it won’t be mentioned here.)

**Plausibility as a Crop**

Other than being a moderately good source of Vitamin C, tomatoes aren’t especially nutritious. They also have high sunlight and soil fertility requirements. Assuming low fertility in the soil of the Underground (those areas that have soil, anyway) and very limited to nonexistent full-sun areas, tomatoes would not be worth large-scale cultivation—at least, not at first. By the time of the game itself, it’s possible technological and horticultural inventions (e.g., greenhouses and perfected composting) have made tomatoes a viable crop.

However, the tomatoes of the Underground may very well be not, strictly speaking, tomatoes—-_Solanum lycopersicum_. They could very well be one or more relatives of _S. lycopersicum_that’s more tolerant of shade and lower fertility. Indeed, several edible relatives of _S. lycopersicum_ grow well in high shade, and several African nightshade species are cultivated, commercially grown crops. It may be that these relatives of _S. lycopersicum_ have been bred in such a way as to resemble _S. lycopersicum_ itself. The possible species selection is expanded even further when one realizes that what is edible to monsters may be a different (or bigger) selection of plants than what is edible to humans.

It’s possible the “tomatoes” aren’t even related to real tomatoes. It’s certainly believable monsters would refer to something superficially similar but unrelated to tomatoes as a “tomato”. After all, in many countries the word “yam” is used to refer to the edible tubers or roots of plants other than those in the yam genus _Dioscorea_.[9](https://argentdandelion.tumblr.com/post/173937823896/crops-of-the-underground-known-types-of-plants#fn:9)

* * *

* * *

  1. Data on the uses of _Typha_ was derived from [Wikipedia](https://t.umblr.com/redirect?z=https%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FTypha&t=ZmNjMjcwMjJkOGQ5MzJlMmU1MWYwN2U1N2M0MmI1NWM0YjFjZjNlYixEWVNueDZtbQ%3D%3D&b=t%3AHZZTbr56CX-Pu8cYzedJTw&p=https%3A%2F%2Fargentdandelion.tumblr.com%2Fpost%2F173937823896%2Fcrops-of-the-underground-known-types-of-plants&m=1). [↩︎](https://argentdandelion.tumblr.com/post/173937823896/crops-of-the-underground-known-types-of-plants#fnref:1)

  2. [http://wric.ucdavis.edu/information/natural%20areas/wr_T/Typha.pdf ](https://t.umblr.com/redirect?z=http%3A%2F%2Fwric.ucdavis.edu%2Finformation%2Fnatural%2520areas%2Fwr_T%2FTypha.pdf%25C2%25A0&t=N2JiZmFkMzAyMWM3MjRiYzUzMTdmYmU2NjcxMDcwNzliOWRmZGQzMixEWVNueDZtbQ%3D%3D&b=t%3AHZZTbr56CX-Pu8cYzedJTw&p=https%3A%2F%2Fargentdandelion.tumblr.com%2Fpost%2F173937823896%2Fcrops-of-the-underground-known-types-of-plants&m=1)[↩︎](https://argentdandelion.tumblr.com/post/173937823896/crops-of-the-underground-known-types-of-plants#fnref:2)

  3. [http://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/PlantFinder/PlantFinderDetails.aspx?kempercode=a407 ](https://t.umblr.com/redirect?z=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.missouribotanicalgarden.org%2FPlantFinder%2FPlantFinderDetails.aspx%3Fkempercode%3Da407%25C2%25A0&t=MGRiMmEyZTJiNmUwMjU0NWJhMzA1YzRiYmYwOTUyMTAxMDI1ZWJkYSxEWVNueDZtbQ%3D%3D&b=t%3AHZZTbr56CX-Pu8cYzedJTw&p=https%3A%2F%2Fargentdandelion.tumblr.com%2Fpost%2F173937823896%2Fcrops-of-the-underground-known-types-of-plants&m=1)[↩︎](https://argentdandelion.tumblr.com/post/173937823896/crops-of-the-underground-known-types-of-plants#fnref:3)

  4. [https://extension.umd.edu/learn/controlling-buttercup-pastures ](https://t.umblr.com/redirect?z=https%3A%2F%2Fextension.umd.edu%2Flearn%2Fcontrolling-buttercup-pastures%25C2%25A0&t=ZDZjMTU1ZGMzZGI3Y2E5Y2ExNDBlMzAwMjY2MTZiZjhjM2ViZmEzOSxEWVNueDZtbQ%3D%3D&b=t%3AHZZTbr56CX-Pu8cYzedJTw&p=https%3A%2F%2Fargentdandelion.tumblr.com%2Fpost%2F173937823896%2Fcrops-of-the-underground-known-types-of-plants&m=1)[↩︎](https://argentdandelion.tumblr.com/post/173937823896/crops-of-the-underground-known-types-of-plants#fnref:4)

  5. [http://www.eattheweeds.com/buttercups/ ](https://t.umblr.com/redirect?z=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.eattheweeds.com%2Fbuttercups%2F%25C2%25A0&t=N2I2YTBkYzQxZTRjMGI1Zjc3OTg1OTI4MWI4OTQxMzNhNzI1YWU1OCxEWVNueDZtbQ%3D%3D&b=t%3AHZZTbr56CX-Pu8cYzedJTw&p=https%3A%2F%2Fargentdandelion.tumblr.com%2Fpost%2F173937823896%2Fcrops-of-the-underground-known-types-of-plants&m=1)[↩︎](https://argentdandelion.tumblr.com/post/173937823896/crops-of-the-underground-known-types-of-plants#fnref:5)

  6. See [this](http://rainy-poppy.tumblr.com/post/171063847821/buttercups) post, on the discovery made between the Tumblr users Rainy-Poppy (Rainy) and Locaven. [↩︎](https://argentdandelion.tumblr.com/post/173937823896/crops-of-the-underground-known-types-of-plants#fnref:6)

  7. [http://nathistoc.bio.uci.edu/plants/Oxalidaceae/Oxalis%20pes-caprae.htm](https://t.umblr.com/redirect?z=http%3A%2F%2Fnathistoc.bio.uci.edu%2Fplants%2FOxalidaceae%2FOxalis%2520pes-caprae.htm&t=NjdjZmRmMWVmOWUwOTY1MmIyZmI3M2NjODc4NThkODA5NzllNTM5MSxEWVNueDZtbQ%3D%3D&b=t%3AHZZTbr56CX-Pu8cYzedJTw&p=https%3A%2F%2Fargentdandelion.tumblr.com%2Fpost%2F173937823896%2Fcrops-of-the-underground-known-types-of-plants&m=1) (see also: [https://books.google.com/books?id=6jRsF1nOmqgC&lpg=PP1&pg=PA14#v=onepage&q&f=false](https://t.umblr.com/redirect?z=https%3A%2F%2Fbooks.google.com%2Fbooks%3Fid%3D6jRsF1nOmqgC%26lpg%3DPP1%26pg%3DPA14%23v%3Donepage%26q%26f%3Dfalse&t=ZDc1YzAyYjA4ZDlhNjJlMDMyYjc2YTcwNzM1ZTc4Y2FiOTQxNmJiZCxEWVNueDZtbQ%3D%3D&b=t%3AHZZTbr56CX-Pu8cYzedJTw&p=https%3A%2F%2Fargentdandelion.tumblr.com%2Fpost%2F173937823896%2Fcrops-of-the-underground-known-types-of-plants&m=1)) [↩︎](https://argentdandelion.tumblr.com/post/173937823896/crops-of-the-underground-known-types-of-plants#fnref:7)

  8. The first source is primarily about California and the second is about south Australia, so it could very well have different shade tolerances in different ecosystems. But who knows where Mt. Ebott is supposed to be? [↩︎](https://argentdandelion.tumblr.com/post/173937823896/crops-of-the-underground-known-types-of-plants#fnref:8)

  9. See Wikipedia’s [etymology section](https://t.umblr.com/redirect?z=https%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FYam_%28vegetable%29%23Etymology&t=MzY0MmYxZDZiZTc0MDk2YzA0ZjA5NGM1NjNjZmM5YTk0M2MyNjU0MCxEWVNueDZtbQ%3D%3D&b=t%3AHZZTbr56CX-Pu8cYzedJTw&p=https%3A%2F%2Fargentdandelion.tumblr.com%2Fpost%2F173937823896%2Fcrops-of-the-underground-known-types-of-plants&m=1) on yams. [↩︎](https://argentdandelion.tumblr.com/post/173937823896/crops-of-the-underground-known-types-of-plants#fnref:9)


	2. Crops of the Underground: Ambiguous Cases

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Covers the crops of the Underground whose genus, species, or other classification is unclear.

(Images derived from CrasherGale’s sprite resource.)

(Some crops of the Underground were of uncertain species, and could be one of a variety of plants. As they were ambiguous cases, I’ve decided to put them in a separate post.)

**Seaweed/Seagrass/“Grooty”**

**Uses**

It’s commonly inferred the “sea-grass” Undyne claims is under “scientific protection” is the same “seaweed” Alphys claims is “scientificially important” and uses to make ice cream. “Seaweed” and “seagrass” are not synonyms for each other: “seaweed” refers to various unrelated algae species that are “macroalgae”, which means they’re big enough to be visible (or even very large). “Seagrass”, however, refers to flowering plants from the order _Alismatales_ that grow completely submerged. (That Undyne seems to think the terms are synonyms may reflect botanical ignorance on her part.) However, it’s possible the plant in Waterfall is neither seagrass nor seaweed, but a plant endemic to the Underground that broadly resembles both. For simplicity’s sake, the plant will be called “grooty”.[1](https://argentdandelion.tumblr.com/post/173937888291/crops-of-the-underground-ambiguous-cases#fn:1)

  
_([It is speculated](https://undertale-science.tumblr.com/post/131155173028/anyone-else-wonder-why-undyne-stops-throwing) Alphys uses this machine to make ice cream/extract agar from “grooty”)_

Seaweed is commonly processed to collect agar, a compound useful as a thickener in foods such as ice cream. Unless her ice cream is outright grooty-flavored, Alphys likely’s use of the “grooty” is for agar extraction. Though many varieties of seaweed are edible, and some varieties used for agar are also used for garnishes or foods, there’s simply no data on grooty’s use beyond an ice cream ingredient.

If one assumes the grooty is more like seagrass than seaweed, there’s less information on its edibility. As far as I can tell, the Internet only has information on the edibility of one species, _Enhalus acoroides_, whose seeds are edible raw or cooked[2](https://argentdandelion.tumblr.com/post/173937888291/crops-of-the-underground-ambiguous-cases#fn:2), and supposedly taste like chestnuts when cooked.[3](https://argentdandelion.tumblr.com/post/173937888291/crops-of-the-underground-ambiguous-cases#fn:3)

**Plausibility as a Crop:**

It’s unclear whether the water in Waterfall or freshwater or saltwater. If freshwater, “grooty” might still be “seaweed” of a sort. As “seaweed” is just a catch-all term for giant algae, arguably any macroalgae that lives in freshwater would count as “freshwater seaweed”. There are indeed some edible, freshwater macroalgae relatives of well-known “seaweed” types. (e.g., the genus Lemanea[4](https://argentdandelion.tumblr.com/post/173937888291/crops-of-the-underground-ambiguous-cases#fn:4)) Some seaweeds do grow in very low light levels. While there is rarely any significant light beyond 200 meters (656 feet) below the ocean’s surface[5](https://argentdandelion.tumblr.com/post/173937888291/crops-of-the-underground-ambiguous-cases#fn:5), in exceptionally clear water it’s possible to find seaweeds growing as deep as 250 meters below the surface.[6](https://argentdandelion.tumblr.com/post/173937888291/crops-of-the-underground-ambiguous-cases#fn:6) Though Waterfall is a dark environment, it’s not quite equivalent: water absorbs light and filters out certain frequencies of light, but “grooty” does not grow submerged, at least for some of the time. Therefore, grooty may get more light than seaweeds living in the twilight zone.

If the “grooty” is some obscure relative of a well-known variety of seaweed, it may very well be in the red seaweed group, for red seaweeds generally grow at the greatest depths (and lowest light levels) of seaweed varieties.[7](https://argentdandelion.tumblr.com/post/173937888291/crops-of-the-underground-ambiguous-cases#fn:7)

Seaweed is fairly easy to grow; it doesn’t need fertilizer or land, just saltwater and a current. It could therefore be a useful and easy-to-grow crop in Waterfall’s conditions.

* * *

**Golden Flowers**

**Uses**

The exact species golden flowers are is a mystery. People have tried figuring it out, but to no success: [Undertale Science](https://undertale-science.tumblr.com/post/130694169223/heres-what-we-know-about-golden-flowers-asriel) even claims “no known plant has all of [the golden flowers’] characteristics]”[8](https://argentdandelion.tumblr.com/post/173937888291/crops-of-the-underground-ambiguous-cases#fn:8). As such, it can’t be matched up to real-world data on nutrition and crops. Assuming golden flower tea is like normal tea, it has essentially no calories or nutrients, though not necessarily no health value at all.

**Plausibility as a Crop**

Golden flowers were brought to the Underground relatively recently, likely closer to a hundred years ago than a thousand. As such, relative to other crops monsters haven’t had as much time to selectively breed them for food and the conditions of the Underground. Still, if one assumes the flowers Asgore gives to kids to take care of are indeed golden flowers[9](https://argentdandelion.tumblr.com/post/173937888291/crops-of-the-underground-ambiguous-cases#fn:9), they are apparently easy enough to grow Underground that even a child could be reasonably expected to take care of a pot of them.

As far as can be inferred from the game, golden flowers only grow in very sunny areas by the Underground’s standards.[10](https://argentdandelion.tumblr.com/post/173937888291/crops-of-the-underground-ambiguous-cases#fn:10) These spots are part-shade at best, for they are surrounded by darkness. Unless someone takes care of the patch in Waterfall, golden flowers are apparently vigorous enough in the Underground’s conditions to do well uncultivated, if only in a few areas. Indeed, in the few areas they do grow, they seem to grow profusely enough to apparently cushion falls.

Assuming Undyne’s golden flower tea is a commercial product and not homemade on a cottage scale, golden flowers are apparently easy enough to grow/high yielding (or perhaps just in high-enough demand) to make commercial cultivation for tea viable.

* * *

(For more information on crops of the Underground, see “[Crops of the Underground: Known Types of Plants](http://argentdandelion.tumblr.com/post/173937823896/crops-of-the-underground-known-types-of-plants)”)

* * *

* * *

  1. See the call for room_water9 in [this](https://t.umblr.com/redirect?z=https%3A%2F%2Fpcy.ulyssis.be%2Fundertale%2Fcalls&t=N2NkMzQ2N2RhY2ZlZjRlZGE3ZGJhZDcwYzViM2U1NWVlMWJjOTk1ZCxabnJGZkRhUQ%3D%3D&b=t%3AHZZTbr56CX-Pu8cYzedJTw&p=https%3A%2F%2Fargentdandelion.tumblr.com%2Fpost%2F173937888291%2Fcrops-of-the-underground-ambiguous-cases&m=1) compilation of Papyrus and Undyne calls. [↩︎](https://argentdandelion.tumblr.com/post/173937888291/crops-of-the-underground-ambiguous-cases#fnref:1)

  2. [https://books.google.com/books?id=dtFDAAAAIAAJ&pg=RA1-PA24#v=onepage&q=Enhalus&f=false ](https://t.umblr.com/redirect?z=https%3A%2F%2Fbooks.google.com%2Fbooks%3Fid%3DdtFDAAAAIAAJ%26pg%3DRA1-PA24%23v%3Donepage%26q%3DEnhalus%26f%3Dfalse%25C2%25A0&t=ODczYjRkY2FjNDU1NTlmNWZiYTA4NmRjYmYzZjE5ZDNiZmQ0NzFjYixabnJGZkRhUQ%3D%3D&b=t%3AHZZTbr56CX-Pu8cYzedJTw&p=https%3A%2F%2Fargentdandelion.tumblr.com%2Fpost%2F173937888291%2Fcrops-of-the-underground-ambiguous-cases&m=1)[↩︎](https://argentdandelion.tumblr.com/post/173937888291/crops-of-the-underground-ambiguous-cases#fnref:2)

  3. [http://www.eattheweeds.com/tag/enhalus-acoroides/ ](https://t.umblr.com/redirect?z=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.eattheweeds.com%2Ftag%2Fenhalus-acoroides%2F%25C2%25A0&t=NWM1ZTk2MGQ0NWQzYTE0MzU3YjYzNmUyN2RmMWQ5OGY3Y2M5MTRjYyxabnJGZkRhUQ%3D%3D&b=t%3AHZZTbr56CX-Pu8cYzedJTw&p=https%3A%2F%2Fargentdandelion.tumblr.com%2Fpost%2F173937888291%2Fcrops-of-the-underground-ambiguous-cases&m=1)[↩︎](https://argentdandelion.tumblr.com/post/173937888291/crops-of-the-underground-ambiguous-cases#fnref:3)

  4. [This](https://t.umblr.com/redirect?z=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.researchgate.net%2Fpublication%2F220000185_Nutrient_content_in_fresh_water_red_algae_Lemaneaceae_Rhodophyta_from_rivers_of_Manipur_north-east_India&t=MWE1ODBmOWI0MjljYjFkMzRhZGM5MTJmZmRkYzhiOThmODcxYjY5NCxabnJGZkRhUQ%3D%3D&b=t%3AHZZTbr56CX-Pu8cYzedJTw&p=https%3A%2F%2Fargentdandelion.tumblr.com%2Fpost%2F173937888291%2Fcrops-of-the-underground-ambiguous-cases&m=1) ResearchGate article. (Also see: [http://www.foragingtexas.com/2006/04/algae.html](https://t.umblr.com/redirect?z=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.foragingtexas.com%2F2006%2F04%2Falgae.html&t=MGEzNjBhZjkzODc0NDE1ZDlhMzM3ZTYxNzU5OGFjNTllY2FiYjdmZixabnJGZkRhUQ%3D%3D&b=t%3AHZZTbr56CX-Pu8cYzedJTw&p=https%3A%2F%2Fargentdandelion.tumblr.com%2Fpost%2F173937888291%2Fcrops-of-the-underground-ambiguous-cases&m=1)) [↩︎](https://argentdandelion.tumblr.com/post/173937888291/crops-of-the-underground-ambiguous-cases#fnref:4)

  5. [https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/light_travel.html ](https://t.umblr.com/redirect?z=https%3A%2F%2Foceanservice.noaa.gov%2Ffacts%2Flight_travel.html%25C2%25A0&t=NzAxMjA0ZDk2NThjYzYzOGFhN2ZhYWE5ZGIxYjdmYTEyZmMxMzVkOSxabnJGZkRhUQ%3D%3D&b=t%3AHZZTbr56CX-Pu8cYzedJTw&p=https%3A%2F%2Fargentdandelion.tumblr.com%2Fpost%2F173937888291%2Fcrops-of-the-underground-ambiguous-cases&m=1)[↩︎](https://argentdandelion.tumblr.com/post/173937888291/crops-of-the-underground-ambiguous-cases#fnref:5)

  6. [https://www.americanscientist.org/article/the-science-of-seaweeds ](https://t.umblr.com/redirect?z=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.americanscientist.org%2Farticle%2Fthe-science-of-seaweeds%25C2%25A0&t=YzU4YTJiNjUwMjJmMzRmYzMxMWE3MDhkMGI3NjlkMzJhZWRkYTMyMCxabnJGZkRhUQ%3D%3D&b=t%3AHZZTbr56CX-Pu8cYzedJTw&p=https%3A%2F%2Fargentdandelion.tumblr.com%2Fpost%2F173937888291%2Fcrops-of-the-underground-ambiguous-cases&m=1)[↩︎](https://argentdandelion.tumblr.com/post/173937888291/crops-of-the-underground-ambiguous-cases#fnref:6)

  7. [https://www.americanscientist.org/article/the-science-of-seaweeds ](https://t.umblr.com/redirect?z=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.americanscientist.org%2Farticle%2Fthe-science-of-seaweeds%25C2%25A0&t=YzU4YTJiNjUwMjJmMzRmYzMxMWE3MDhkMGI3NjlkMzJhZWRkYTMyMCxabnJGZkRhUQ%3D%3D&b=t%3AHZZTbr56CX-Pu8cYzedJTw&p=https%3A%2F%2Fargentdandelion.tumblr.com%2Fpost%2F173937888291%2Fcrops-of-the-underground-ambiguous-cases&m=1)[↩︎](https://argentdandelion.tumblr.com/post/173937888291/crops-of-the-underground-ambiguous-cases#fnref:7)

  8. While no known plant matches all of the characteristics of the golden flower, Undertale Science does say that _Chrysogonum virginianum_, or creeping green-and-gold, matches the description the most. This still doesn’t help, though, since the Internet says it’s either inedible or lacks any information on edibility. [↩︎](https://argentdandelion.tumblr.com/post/173937888291/crops-of-the-underground-ambiguous-cases#fnref:8)

  9. Asgore “volunteered to donate his own flowers” for a school project about responsibility, apparently for Monster Kid’s age group. Though golden flowers aren’t the only plants grown in the throne room, it’s unclear whether the other plants count as “flowers”. [↩︎](https://argentdandelion.tumblr.com/post/173937888291/crops-of-the-underground-ambiguous-cases#fnref:9)

  10. Logically, in an area so dark as Waterfall the flowers wouldn’t look so brightly-colored, but it was probably impractical to give everything correct shading depending on the area. I’m going to assume that’s a unusual and highly localized part-sun area in Waterfall. [↩︎](https://argentdandelion.tumblr.com/post/173937888291/crops-of-the-underground-ambiguous-cases#fnref:10)


End file.
